Lausanne, Switzerland, July 7, 2017 - Reigning Olympic champions China host Russia Saturday eying their second straight of the season after they disposed of Italy 3-1 on the opening day. But Russia, who lead their FIVB World Grand Prix head-to-head series 18-11, need to bounce back from an opening day defeat in five sets to USA.
Head-to-Head• China and Russia will meet for the 30th time at the World Grand Prix. Russia have won 18 of the previous 29 versus 11 victories for China.
• Russia have only met Brazil (30) more often in the World Grand Prix, while China faced both United States and Brazil both 36 times.
• Their last encounters in the tournament came in 2015, when China won both in the preliminary round (3-1) and in the final round (3-0) but Russia finished above them (second versus fourth).
• In 2002, they faced each other in the final of the tournament with Russia winning 3-1, claiming their third title.
• In all major competitions, China have won their last three matches versus Russia since the 3-2 defeat at the 2014 World Grand Prix.
China• China beat Italy 3-1 in their opening match. They profited from 34 errors by Italy.
• Xiangyu Gong was China's top scorer against Italy on 13 points. Nine of her teammates also scored at least one point.
• Last year China won their first eight matches of the World Grand Prix.
• They won their first two matches of the season in four of their last five World Grand Prix campaigns.
Russia• Russia lost their opening match 3-2 to United States, despite a 2-1 lead after three sets and 35 errors by USA.
• The last time they lost their first two matches was in 2013, when a defeat against United States was followed up with a loss versus Brazil.
• Russia have now lost their last two World Grand Prix matches by a 3-2 scoreline, as they lost 3-2 to against Netherlands in last year's final 3-4 match.
• They can play three consecutive five-setters for the first time since a run of three in August 2009, which included a 3-2 loss to China.